


Gimlet

by ribbons



Series: Professionals [2]
Category: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love), Haru wo Daiteita - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-13
Updated: 2009-04-13
Packaged: 2017-10-04 11:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ribbons/pseuds/ribbons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lime is not a venue that Sawa Nagisa would spend any time in, if the choice were wholly left to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gimlet

**Author's Note:**

> Grateful thanks to [](http://geri-chan.livejournal.com/profile)[**geri_chan**](http://geri-chan.livejournal.com/) for beta-ing this!
> 
> Written for the "Embracing Spring" fest. Prompt was "a party at Lime (the bar where Katou &amp; co hang out).
> 
> Mostly smutless, but with one reference to dodgy dungeon fun.

Lime is not a venue that Sawa Nagisa would spend any time in, if the choice were wholly left to him. He had never been fond of sports bars, even before he surrendered himself to his feminine traits. Sawa can speak and write for hours on the joys of artifice and illusion, but he wants their manifestations to be elegant, intricate, and lavish with secret layers.

Even when, say, Iwaki Kyosuke and Katou Youji are naked in his dungeon, straining against restraints and moaning for mercy around ball-gags, they are elegant. Sawa will never tire of watching them, because from what he's witnessed of their interactions so far, he knows he will never see _everything_ that they are to each other.

Whereas Lime… Lime is a bar that is trying too hard to be American. Lime has tall potted ferns that double as impromptu ashtrays. The industrial-grade upholstery on Lime's sofas reminds Sawa of the kind used on trains and buses -- intended primarily to withstand the wear and tear of children and other barbarians, with no redeeming aesthetic value. For the fifth time that evening, Sawa redrapes his gossamer scarf around his shoulders: it is a pale, lavender organza that complements both the dark purple-black of his pantsuit and the iridescent pearl-grey of his shot-silk camisole.

A friendly voice enquires, "Allow me?" Sawa nods. Iwaki proceeds to twist, fold, and loop the trailing ends of the scarf into an ornate bow -- one that would look ridiculous on most people and most outfits, but perfectly accents the austere lines of Sawa's clothes and his tall, slender build. Sawa doesn't need to view his reflection in the glossy wood of the bar counter to recognize that Iwaki has just oh-so-casually bestowed upon him a mini-masterpiece.

Not for the first time, Sawa muses about Iwaki's career alternatives. With those agile hands, the actor could have been a successful tailor. Or perhaps a pickpocket? Sawa rejects that thought almost instantly: Iwaki is a gifted and dedicated film actor, but left to his own devices, he is almost embarrassingly guileless. The reporters in the celebrity magazines have provided Sawa countless hours of entertainment in their attempts to analyze Iwaki and Katou's personalities: they invariably portray Katou as more open, more simple-minded, and more childlike, and Sawa is well aware that this party will do nothing to change that. Lime lines up with the public's perception of Katou: very male, cheerfully flashy, and wholly unsubtle, even in its drinks menu.

Iwaki gestures at the tumbler of gin and lime juice in Sawa's left hand. "Would you like for me to get that refreshed for you?"

Sawa shakes his head, amused at the quickly-hidden flash of disappointment that crosses Iwaki's face. Sawa has seen that look before, on the face of a shy cousin: it is the look of someone desperately seeking something to do so that they don't have to come up with another three hours of small talk.

"It's nice to know," the ex-policeman murmurs, "that I'm not the only guest who'd rather be anywhere else."

"The owners of Lime have been very good to Katou over the years," Iwaki loyally states. "Hosting this celebration here will bring them new business."

Sawa can't resist teasing Iwaki just a tiny bit. "Katou-kun has become so much more mature within the past few years. I would imagine that he has been coming here less often?"

Iwaki rewards him with a faint smile. "To be honest," the actor confesses, "he surprised me when he announced he was going to rent this place for tonight. I have become used to our celebrations being much smaller and more private."

Sawa smirks at this, and Iwaki flushes as he realizes how his words have been interpreted. "I prefer the dishes he cooks himself," Iwaki continues -- a declaration Sawa greets with a broad grin. Iwaki turns even more red, opens his mouth, and then thinks better of whatever he was originally going to say. "What is the name of your drink, Sawa-san?"

"This?" Sawa peers at the remains of the ice cubes as he answers, "The menu calls it 'a Gimlet.'"

"I believe I will try one for myself."

Iwaki bows to Sawa and then departs for the bar. Sawa flutters his fingers in farewell, "tah tah, darling!"-style. Maintaining his expression of mirth, Sawa then lets his gaze drift around the room, pausing just long enough to lock eyes with Katou.

The actor is still standing within a knot of other prominent actors paying court to Mizoguchi-kantoku, seemingly absorbed with the conversation there. His stare, however, tells Sawa that Katou had paid close attention to his entire exchange with Iwaki. If looks could incinerate, Sawa's scarf would have become a hydrangea of ashes within an instant. The quirk in Katou's smile, however, tells Sawa that Katou also knows how easy Iwaki is to provoke.

Katou has nothing to fear where Sawa is concerned. Sawa knows that Katou knows this. Yet the heat of Katou's stare. . . _Iwaki-san is going to get lucky tonight,_ Sawa thinks. He chuckles to himself as he imagines saying this directly to Iwaki -- and then he laughs aloud: his seemingly unprompted amusement is making the ingenue beside him more than a little nervous.

_Thought you'd be safe standing next to me, eh? And now you're wondering if I'm a crazy old woman instead of a protective one…_ Sawa isn't in the mood to babysit her, but he knows just the person for the job. "Sakamoto-san, isn't it? Did you want to be introduced to Iwaki Kyosuke? Nonsense, it will be no trouble at all."


End file.
